The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte

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The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte
Sparks - The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte.png
Studio album by
Sparks
ReleasedMay 26, 2023 (2023-05-26)
StudioSparks (Los Angeles, California)
Genre
Length47:35
Label Island
Producer
Sparks chronology
The Sparks Brothers
(2022)		The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte
(2023)
Singles from The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte
  1. "The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte"
    Released: March 3, 2023 [5]
  2. "Veronica Lake"
    Released: April 21, 2023 [6]
  3. "Nothing Is as Good as They Say It Is"
    Released: May 12, 2023 [7]

The Girl is Crying in Her Latte is the 25th studio album by American rock group Sparks, released through Island Records on May 26, 2023, their first release through the label since 1976. [8] It was preceded by the release of two singles, and received acclaim from critics. The duo toured the world until July 2023 in support of the album, the biggest headlining tour of their career. [9]

Contents

Background and promotion

On January 24, 2023, Sparks announced that they had again signed with Island Records, the label which released their albums Kimono My House (1974), Propaganda (1974), Indiscreet (1975) and Big Beat (1976). [8] On March 3, 2023, the lead single, "The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte" was released, with a music video starring Australian actress Cate Blanchett. [5] The second single, "Veronica Lake", was released on April 21, 2023. [6] The third single, "Nothing Is as Good as They Say It Is", was released on May 12, 2023, and is "sung from the perspective of a 22-hour old baby who is disgusted with the world, and wants to return to the womb". [7]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic? 7.7/10 [10]
Metacritic 85/100 [11]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [12]
American Songwriter Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [2]
Clash 7/10 [13]
Classic Rock Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [14]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [1]
The Line of Best Fit 8/10 [15]
Mojo Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [16]
musicOMH Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [17]
NME Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [18]
Pitchfork 7.9/10 [19]

The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte received a score of 85 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on 13 critics' reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". [11] Editors of AnyDecentMusic? characterize 11 reviews as a 7.8 out of 10. [10] Robin Murray of Clash described the album as "like vintage Sparks, while also refusing to rest on their laurels. Glamorous but never glam, funny without resorting to casual sarcasm, their arch style is married to a form of songwriting that aims for the heart", calling it an "impactful record that illuminates their continued engagement with the wonder of the pop song". [13] Reviewing the album for Pitchfork , Stuart Berman opined that it "exudes even more vitality and verve" than their recent work, and "strik[es] the ideal Sparksian balance of madcap melody, labyrinthine arrangement, and stinging social satire", writing that "no other band articulates existential dread with such playful panache and joyous absurdity". [19]

David Murphy, writing for musicOMH , remarked that the duo are "still expanding their palette", which he called "impressive" as they "still sound exactly like themselves". [17] Phil Mongredien of The Guardian gave it five out of five stars and called it "far from an exercise in backwards-looking nostalgia or a rehash of former glories. In fact, it's an utter joy, one gloriously artful pop banger overflowing with clever ideas following another", including "arresting lyrics and equally arresting melodies jostle [that] for the listener's attention". [1] Erica Campbell of NME wrote that The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte is "a reminder that even now, Sparks are completely content with boldly going first, taking their music into ambitious territory no one else has been before". [18]

Heather Phares of AllMusic opined that there is "something distinctly cinematic about the sounds and storytelling" on the album, commenting that it is "extra satisfying that this peak in their popularity coincides with music this vibrantly engaging". [12] Hal Horowitz of American Songwriter dubbed it Sparks' best work, writing, "To say it sounds like another great Sparks set might be damning it with faint praise", and calling it "inspirational" that Ron Mael "can stay at the top of his game after this long in the art/pop trenches". [2]

John Aizlewood of Mojo wrote, "Ron Mael's lyrics are elegiac, witty and forensically detailed ('then, your sweater caught my shopping cart'); Russell Mael delivers them exquisitely and they specialise in ear worms. How on earth do they do it?" [16] Reviewing the album for Classic Rock , Stephen Dalton found that the duo "cement their autumnal resurgence" with the album, which he described as "a very strong collection of vintage Sparks moods, plus a few new left-field twists", concluding that Sparks "are living proof that weirdness never gets old". [14] Simon Heavisides of The Line of Best Fit wrote that "AI could never replicate the unique balance between deranged imagination and supreme sanity that is the mark of a great Sparks record like this". He felt that the album is "not really a return to the Island years musically" and "If there is a criticism, maybe they could open things up and allow an outside producer in for the first time in many years, on past experience a wise move". [15]

Commercial performance

The album entered the UK Albums Chart at no. 7, the third consecutive Sparks studio album to debut at that position. [20]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ron and Russell Mael

The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte track listing
No.TitleLength
1."The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte"2:56
2."Veronica Lake"3:02
3."Nothing Is as Good as They Say It Is"3:13
4."Escalator"2:57
5."The Mona Lisa's Packing, Leaving Late Tonight"3:33
6."You Were Meant for Me"4:16
7."Not That Well-Defined"3:29
8."We Go Dancing"3:07
9."When You Leave"4:18
10."Take Me for a Ride"4:07
11."It's Sunny Today"2:39
12."A Love Story"3:17
13."It Doesn't Have to Be That Way"3:40
14."Gee, That Was Fun"3:01
Total length:47:35

Personnel

Charts

Chart performance for The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte
Chart (2023)Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [21] 58
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [22] 129
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [23] 40
French Albums (SNEP) [24] 128
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [25] 37
Scottish Albums (OCC) [26] 2
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [27] 35
UK Albums (OCC) [28] 7

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russell Mael</span> American musician and co-founder of the band Sparks

Russell Craig Mael is an American singer best known as the lead singer for the band Sparks which he formed in 1971 with his elder brother Ron Mael. Mael is known for his wide vocal range, in particular his far-reaching falsetto. He has a flamboyant and hyperactive stage presence which contrasts sharply with Ron Mael's inexpressive demeanour. The band released an album with British rock band Franz Ferdinand, as the supergroup FFS, titled FFS, released in 2015. The Mael brothers are the founders of Lil' Beethoven Records.

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"This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us" is a song by American pop band Sparks. Written by Ron Mael, it is the opening track on their third studio album Kimono My House (1974), and was the lead single from the album. Although it did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100, "This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us" achieved major success in Europe, peaking within the top ten of the charts in the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. In the latter country, the song peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, where it remained for two consecutive weeks. The song has become the highest-charting for Sparks on the UK Singles Chart, held off from the top spot by The Rubettes' bubblegum pop song "Sugar Baby Love".

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Propaganda is the fourth studio album by American rock band Sparks, released on November 11, 1974. Following up their commercial breakthrough, Kimono My House, released earlier the same year, it was a moderate success in the United States and peaked at No. 9 in the U.K. in 1975. The album cover features an image of a tied-up and gagged Mael brothers, titled "Welcome on Board," which was taken by photographer Monty Coles.

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Angst in My Pants is the eleventh studio album by American pop and rock band Sparks. The album was released in 1982 by Atlantic Records in both the US and UK, and this was the sixth overall label that the band was signed to in the US, and, for the first time since the mid-1970s, the band would be signed to the same label in both the US and UK for three consecutive studio albums.

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<i>Balls</i> (Sparks album) 2000 studio album by Sparks

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<i>Lil Beethoven</i> 2002 studio album by Sparks

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<i>Hello Young Lovers</i> (Sparks album) 2006 studio album by Sparks

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Mongredien, Phil (May 28, 2023). "Sparks: The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte review – one artful banger after another". The Guardian . Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Horowitz, Hal (May 23, 2023). "Review: Sparks' 26th Release Keeps The Innovative, Bizarre, Creative, and Skewed Faith". American Songwriter . Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  3. ↑ Pearis, Bill (May 26, 2023). "Indie Basement (5/26): Sparks, Arlo Parks, Kevin Morby, more". BrooklynVegan . Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  4. ↑ Vetrugno, Martina (May 26, 2023). "Sparks – The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte". OndaRock. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  5. 1 2 Willman, Chris (March 3, 2023). "Sparks on Recruiting Cate Blanchett as the Dance-Happy Star of 'The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte': 'We Were Extras in Our Own Video' (Exclusive)". Variety . Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  6. 1 2 Pope, Cervanté (April 21, 2023). "Sparks Explore Hollywood's Dark Side on "Veronica Lake": Stream". Consequence . Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  7. 1 2 Ruiz, Ronan (May 14, 2023). "Sparks Releases New Single "Nothing Is as Good as They Say It Is" From Upcoming Album The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte". Mxdwn. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  8. 1 2 Kress, Bryan (May 26, 2023). "Sparks Share New Album The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte: Stream". Consequence . Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  9. ↑ Taylor, Tom (January 31, 2023). "Sparks announce the biggest tour of their career in 2023". Far Out . Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  10. 1 2 "The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte by Sparks". AnyDecentMusic? . Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  11. 1 2 "The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte by Sparks Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic . Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  12. 1 2 Phares, Heather. "Sparks – The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte Album Review". AllMusic . Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  13. 1 2 Murray, Robin (May 22, 2023). "Sparks – The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte | Reviews". Clash . Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  14. 1 2 Dalton, Stephen (May 26, 2023). "Sparks' album The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte is living proof that weirdness never gets old". Classic Rock . Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  15. 1 2 Heavisides, Simon (May 23, 2023). "Sparks: The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte Review". The Line of Best Fit . Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  16. 1 2 Aizlewood, John (May 26, 2023). "Sparks Reviewed". Mojo . Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  17. 1 2 Murphy, David (May 23, 2023). "Sparks – The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte | Album Reviews". musicOMH . Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  18. 1 2 Campbell, Erica (May 26, 2023). "Sparks – The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte review: the peculiar pop odyssey continues". NME . Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  19. 1 2 Berman, Stuart (May 30, 2023). "Sparks: The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte Album Review". Pitchfork . Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Sparks | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company . Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  21. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Sparks – The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
  22. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Sparks – The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  23. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Sparks – The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  24. ↑ "Top Albums (Week 22, 2023)". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  25. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Sparks – The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  26. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  27. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Sparks – The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  28. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
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